Cows vs. Aliens!

The plot was a simple one, but full of fun and a thought-provoking game. I’ll admit, I’m not the best at Poker and struggled a little to remember how to play, the rules, how to win, etc. I think having the instructions option available throughout the game would have helped myself and other perform better, and possibly even have won. I did greatly enjoy, however, the game aspect of it. Not too often have I come across an actual game based storygame, so this was a refreshing change.

The writing demonstrates a strong command of grammar, with clear, concise sentence structure and flawless mechanics. Beyond technical skill, their style is engaging and full of personality, making their work both easy and enjoyable to read.

The art and graphics were a wonderful addition. In this story, the graphics broke up the text in a way that made the pacing feel natural and the flow more dynamic. They also added an extra layer of interest that encouraged the reader to keep going and helped keep the story light and entertaining.

Overall, I rated this game a 7/8. I really enjoyed the simple, playfulness of the storyline as well as the (self-proclaimed) difficulty of navigating the game.

COWS VS. ALIENS!: 98%

SHOULD I READ THIS?
Yes, it's an entertaining poker simulator.
Preview: Aliens are trying to steal your cows. The fiends! The only way you can keep your herd safe is to beat those aliens at the great galactic game, poker. Are you up to the challenge?

=SPOILERS BELOW=

RATINGS:

Basic Plot & Coherence: 2/2 (usually /5)
Shockingly, this does manage to have a plot. Basically, this game is a very good poker simulator with an entertaining storyline and amusing graphics.
The plot is highly entertaining, especially because the game as it is doesn’t really need one. On its own, this game is already a clever poker simulator. The plot just takes it the extra mile.

Characters & Development: 0/0 (usually /5)
As compelling a heroic figure as Farmer Brown is, we don't get to see much of his inner conflict. This category is unweighted for obvious reasons.

Grammar: 5/5
I noticed no mistakes.
Mastery of Language: 1/1 (usually /5)
What plot there is is written in an entertainingly campy style that fit perfectly with the tone of the game.

Mechanics & Coding: 5/5
Wow. An entire poker game is coded into choose-your-own-adventure format. That’s highly impressive. As far as I can tell, the coding is seemless, glitchless, and impressive in terms of versetility.

Branching: 0/0 (usually /5)
There’s no real branching, so this category is unweighted.

Player Options/fair choice: 2.5/3
A lot of the game is just based on hoping you get lucky with what cards you draw. In real poker, the entertainment of the game tends to come from judging your opponent’s cards, which is admittedly hard to do in an online version of the game (it’s a nitpick, but it’s my nitpick). That said, considering this is a poker simulator, the options you do have are surprisingly flexible.

PERSONAL EXPERIENCE:
I died after a couple rounds (curse those aliens!). I don’t know what the ultimate victory ending is, but I imagine it’s very well deserved.

CONCLUSION: 15.5/16 = 97.88%

Wow! This was great! I got addicted and really enjoyed both the funny story and the game play. The scripting and art was really well done! Everything about the game was polished and fun. The story was just enough to frame the poker simulator and add to it, without being cumbersome. The jokes were good. The cheating and other antics made it more fun than just standard poker. I was going to say the game was too easy (I am decent at poker), but right when I thought that the Aliens cheated me out of all my cows! It ended up being the perfect difficulty (in my opinion). I clicked and expected a cheesy story about karate cows, and found something way better.

This game is just first-class awesomeness. Sure, the author could have written all the tons of scripting and manipulation to make a poker-playing card game and that would have been enough. But instead, this author went way beyond that and included hilarious pictures on the cards and even a story about aliens who somehow know how to play poker in the first place!

I loved the way that it kept going for a long time, forcing you try and beat more and more aliens as the game progressed. I’m not sure how I was able to beat so many so easily, and I wonder if the game might be slightly tipped in my favor (or if the AI behind the aliens is as dumb as the aliens or even non-existent). But it was still absolutely tons of fun. I don’t know why this isn’t rated eight by everyone who plays it – I’m guessing those are alienphobes or something.

This is a really great example of some of the extremes that are possible with this site and the scripting languages and variables that are available to authors. Yes, you can write some great stories here, but if you learn more about how these things works, you, too, can create masterful games like this. Thanks so much for taking all the time it took to write this thing and for sharing it with the site!

It's hard to grasp how much smart thought and tough work went into this. It's not a perfect game, but it's still a pretty satisfying time sink. The aliens being able to raise the bet was a great feature.

There was a moment when I said to myself, "I guess I'm betting the farm." I bet 30 and the aliens raised. I had no choice. When I won the hand it came with a victorious feeling. This game can be kinda tough, especially if you have the discipline not to cheat it.

A feature that would have been cool was a way for your character to cheat, within the confines of the game. Maybe a way to keep a card hidden behind your ear. As only a common man though, I'm not sure how much more scripting that would have made necessary.

This is pretty fun with a great sense of humor. I'll be suggesting this to friends.

I clicked into this expecting goofy poker, but the card drawings completely caught me off guard. They’re weird in the best way.

Every alien looks like it came out of a sketchbook halfway between a sci-fi comic and a fever dream. There’s this rough, scribbling to the art that makes the game way more fun to stare at between hands.

The aliens aren’t just copy-pasted designs either, some of them look smug, others look like they don’t know what planet they’re on. It actually made losing rounds less annoying because I was too busy laughing at their dumb faces.

The game itself runs smooth, and the poker’s solid, but for me it was the drawings that made it memorable. More games on this site should mess around with visuals like this, it adds a lot without slowing anything down.

Rated 7/8. The cards in this game deserve their own art exhibit.

This is one of the sweetest and surprisingly addictive games I have ever played on the site. What begins as a silly premise, poker to save cows from being kidnapped by aliensquickly changes into a sophisticated and surprisingly gamelike experience that I was hooked much longer than I had meant to be.

The poker mechanics are incredibly slick and function flawlessly in the choose-your-own-adventure format. The rounds get progressively tense, and the periodic alien shenanigans or betting stunts add just the right touch of unpredictability. The jokes always pay off, and the aliens' quirky personalities turn each encounter into a hoot.

The presentation and scripting are top-notch. The visuals, particularly the bespoke card art, add depth in a way that's considerate and imaginative. There's just enough narrative to give context without wasting time on gameplay, and the humor is always spot-on. It's not often that this much coding work is paired with such a breezy, easy-to-play tone.

Despite not having branching narratives, that's clearly by design. It's a stand-alone arcade-like poker simulation with a dash of narrative charm, rather than an boring poker storygame. What it does, it does exceedingly well.

There are certain moments in which the game becomes luck-dependent, but that is part of the suspense. It provides those incredible situations when you go all-in and somehow manage to achieve a win that feels incredibly satisfying.

If you enjoy poker or merely wish to see what the advanced scripting tools within this website are capable of, this game is an excellent example. It is funny, high-quality, and very suspenseful. A genre top pick.

Moo-ve over alien and give me my cows already.

meh

good

no